had to fill in a slot at a city centre bar the other day. just a set of decks,ok sound system and lots of gangs of cocktail guzzling girls with iphone record collections to apply their makeup to and drink a chardonnay before heading out. wasnt sure what to play,certainly not my usual Northern. went for an 3 hour early disco,70's soul set; (velvet hammer /happy Otis Clay /Only way is up - Komiko / Feel Alright). keep the volume lowish so people could talk. nearly every body in the room was tapping their feet and jigging about, getting into the groove obviously they hadnt a clue what was being played. it seems if the beat is consistant and the records got groove it simply works. nothing i played was really a soul do set. reminded me of why i danced at 17, i simply had no idea who sang the tunes i just tuned into the dj and went with it.

Hope the DJs who entertained you back then weren't quite as cynical or as disparaging about their audience 

had to fill in a slot at a city centre bar the other day. just a set of decks,ok sound system and lots of gangs of cocktail guzzling girls with iphone record collections to apply their makeup to and drink a chardonnay before heading out. wasnt sure what to play,certainly not my usual Northern. went for an 3 hour early disco,70's soul set; (velvet hammer /happy Otis Clay /Only way is up - Komiko / Feel Alright). keep the volume lowish so people could talk. nearly every body in the room was tapping their feet and jigging about, getting into the groove obviously they hadnt a clue what was being played. it seems if the beat is consistant and the records got groove it simply works. nothing i played was really a soul do set. reminded me of why i danced at 17, i simply had no idea who sang the tunes i just tuned into the dj and went with it.

welcome to my life, bro. 

i live in Monterey, California. no one within 100 miles of here has ever heard of northern soul. i own my own tables/PA system and will DJ anywhere! wine bars/cafes/etc. you just described every set i've ever done. all my favorite northern records are mood killers, but things like "love don't you go through changes on me" by sister sledge, or "will you be ready" by samson and delilah are huge hits (even though no one knows these songs either). 

the thing is that these "casual" audiences are used to the beats/rhythms/tempos that they know through hip-hop/dance music, which is largely based on early disco/funk samples.